An unconventional fashion blogger trying to find her place on the internet

I’m a comfortable UK size 8 and will stick to this size when I order things online and buy things in store. In the last month I’ve purchased a couple of things which don’t fit in with my usual size and thought I would share those experiences with you all today. The clothes I’ve purchased vary from a size 6 to 10 and I think highlight a major issue that we as consumers face when shopping online and on the high street. 
So without further ado, here are a couple of examples of my run ins with vanity sizing this month. 
1. The latest purchase was from a brand called Waven through Asos. I found a lovely pair of high waisted jeans in the sale for just £13.50 and was so excited that they had a size 8 in stock. So in my basket they went and the following day were delivered to my humble abode. 
What happened next was a scene that would have fit in perfectly in a Bridget Jones film. The jeans were unbelievably tight. As soon as I put my leg in I knew it was going to be trouble. Cue ten minutes of wriggling, doing squats to pull these bad lads up and breathing in to my very core before I finally did them up. 

My first thought was “maybe I just need to wear them around a bit to loosen them up and then they’ll look alright?” So I strolled around the flat and did my usual fashion show for Aaron (which he’ll roll his eyes at — I know deep down he secretly loves it) but I couldn’t move properly. My usually slim tum was looking like a muffin top and my little bit of cushion on my back was being pushed together making it look like I had back fat. 

I asked what Aaron thought and he voiced the words going through my head “Gaby, they don’t look comfortable and I think you should return them for the next size up”. 
2. Next up is one of my favourite midi skirts from River Island. I can usually tell whether something is going to fit me when I pick it up in store (except for the black Levi shorts I picked up in a vintage shop last weekend – I’m definitely not a 26″ waist no matter what the Topshop label tells me) and knew that the size 8 was going to be huge. I ended up going down to a size 6 and it fit me perfectly! 

3. On the same trip that I purchased the above skirt, I bought the white frill sleeved top. They didn’t have it in a size 8 but I desperately needed it to come home with me. So I bought it in the size 10 and was surprised that it fit me really well! 

4. The last run in was another River Island sizing mishap. I was in store with Aaron in tow, and found a gorgeous light grey faux suede biker jacket for £30. I obviously had to have it and chucked all of my stuff at Aaron so I could try it on in a size 8 – but it drowned me! Another time I had to size down to get a nicer fit in the same store – the tops of the arms are a little bit tight, but not uncomfortably so or unflattering, I can deal with that as it fits well everywhere else. 

Let me know about your trials and tribulations with clothing sizes in the comments! 
Until next time… 
Gaby xxx

asosfashionfashion bloggerriver islandsizing problemsvanity sizing